McDermott out as Eagles defensive coordinator

January 15, 2011|By Nick Fierro, OF THE MORNING CALL

Andy Reid has changed his mind.

Again.

The Eagles head coach woke up the day after the his team lost a 21-16 playoff decision to the Green Bay Packers and told the public he was sticking with young defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, who had just completed his second year on the job.

But in the days that followed, he changed his mind and in the middle of the week informed McDermott that he would be looking to hire a new coordinator.

Although the Eagles wanted to wait a few more days to make the announcement, word leaked on Saturday that McDermott had been fired, and team sources were forced to confirm it.

McDermott, 36, was a rising young star in the Eagles' system when he was promoted less than two years ago, just before training camp began in 2009, to replace terminally ill Jim Johnson, who died of cancer less than a month later.

A team source who confirmed the firing said there would be "no statement for now."

McDermott could not be reached for comment. Neither could Reid, who was said to have left the country for a vacation despite such an important coaching position still being open at the exact time when most candidates are being interviewed around the NFL.

One of them is valued Eagles defensive assistant Dick Jauron, who was given permission by the Eagles this week to interview for the vacant defensive coordinator job in Cleveland. Jauron has previous experience as a defensive coordinator and head coach in this league.

According to a team source, Jauron is one of the candidates to replace McDermott here, but there apparently is no frontrunner.

McDermott was a football and wrestling standout at La Salle High School in Philadelphia who went on to star as a safety at William and Mary alongside Darren Sharper. He actually predated Reid as an Eagles employee, having been hired in 1998 as a scouting administrative coordinator.

When Reid became head coach a year later, McDermott began a steady ascent up the food chain, coaching both the secondary and linebackers under Johnson before ultimately being chosen to succeed him.

As the coordinator, McDermott had an up-and-down tenure in trying to guide a raw, rebuilt defense through some inconsistencies.

Following the high-risk, high-reward style of Johnson, McDermott's unit forced 38 turnovers in 2009, good for third in the league. The Eagles also ranked fifth in yards per play and second in third-down defense.

His undoing this year was the defense's league-worst performance in the red zone, in which opponents scored touchdowns 76.7 percent of the time. In the loss to Green Bay, the Packers made good on all three trips.

"I would tell you you're dealing with a guy that's a tremendous worker and is a very smart individual," Reid said in his season-ending press conference. "And so I look at it a little bit different than what you do in that I've seen him work with young guys, I've seen him work through injuries, I've seen him stay positive through those situations and still put us in a position to win football games and knowing that he's going to do nothing but improve as a coach, just like all of us, with experience.

"And so I have a lot of respect for him and the way that he does business."

Nevertheless, Reid reversed course two days later, presumably starting the search for a more experienced leader.

Attempts to reach a number of defensive players were unsuccessful, but rookie linebacker Jamat Chany offered his reaction on Twitter.

"Coach Sean McDermott was a good young defensive coordinator," he tweeted. "No doubt in my mind he'll be a great DC in the future."